Menu

these are a few of our favourite things…

My Top 5 episodes of Firefly

If you have never seen Firefly, I honestly pity you. One of the best Sci-fi television shows in years, it was short-lived (only getting half a season) before being axed by FOX, something any fan will assure you is literally the worst thing to ever happen in their entire lives, myself included.

Honestly I don’t even know if this is really my Top 5 episodes. As I was writing this I was changing my mind constantly, adding episodes, moving episodes up and down the list. There isn’t a Firefly episode that I dislike. So perhaps the title of this should be: Lauren’s Top 5 episodes of Firefly as of September 3rd 2015.

Serenity

Like all good pilot episodes, Serenity gives you everything you need to know. We meet the Firefly-class space vessel, Serenity, and the rag-tag crew who inhabits her: Captain Mal Reynolds, Zoe, Wash, Kaylee, Jayne, Shepard Book, and Inara. During the feature length episode, Serenity gains two more passengers, Simon Tam and his mysterious sister River, both of whom are on the run after breaking River out of an Alliance facility that was torturing and experimenting on her. The episode does a great job of showing you just enough good stuff to get you hooked and wanting more.

Jaynestown

In arguably one of the funniest episodes of the series, the crew of Serenity find themselves running a job on a moon Jayne visited in the past, only to find he has now become somewhat of a local folk legend. While he may be really (really) hard to love at times, Jayne is actually one of my favourite characters in the series, and I think this is the episode that really pushed me into begrudging affection for him. Its hard to pick a favourite moment from the episode but I think the crew’s discovery of the Jayne Cobb statue, and the catchy folk song sung by the drunkards in the bar may tie for first place.

Our Mrs Reynolds

Another wonderfully comedic episode. The crew get drunk after a job well done, and Mal wakes up to find he was accidentally part of a marriage ceremony in the night, and his blushing bride has stowed away on his ship. Hijinks and teasing ensue, the ship is then hijacked by said blushing bride, who isn’t as innocent as we thought, and it’s a beautiful mess from start to finish. It is possible the most entertaining 40 mins of television you will ever watch. I never get tired of this one.

Heart of Gold

This one is equal parts fun and tragic, just how I like ‘em. Serenity’s crew are lending a hand to some lovely ladies in a brothel and Janye is obviously having the time of his life. Not only does this episode have some great new characters and one liners – “Were I unwed, I would take you in a manly fashion” – it also has some really touching moments. We see Zoe and Wash discussing the possibility of children in the future (super hard to watch this if you know what happens in the film, Serenity), and the heartbreaking shot of Inara crying her eyes out alone, after catching Mal walking out of Nandi’s room. Its an episode that makes the cancellation of the series hurt even more; imagine the places we could have gone.

Out of Gas

Love. This. Episode. I love this show. Out of Gas gets number one for a few reasons. Serenity breaks down, and Mal orders everyone off and elects to stay on the ship to try and repair her himself, and cements once and for all that the Serenity is more than just a ship, its the heart and soul of the show. Its a home. We get flashbacks to how Mal came to have Serenity, how Zoe met Wash, how the crew came to find a home in Serenity. It’s wonderful, and sad, and happy, and nostalgic, and in my opinion the best episode of the series. But then I’m a sucker for everything that involves Mal being a stupid self sacrificing bastard. Agree or disagree with my choices? That’s cool, tell me what your favourite episodes are. After writing this I now feel super sad, and I have the theme song stuck in my head. Shiny.